Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of people on zero hours contracts in Stockport constituency.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market. They are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For some, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them.
Individuals on zero hours contracts represent a very small proportion of the workforce. The ONS estimates that 122,000 people aged 16 and over were employed on a zero hours contract in North West England in January – March 2023, representing 3.5% of people in employment in the area.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when her Department first became aware of the use of racial classifications on official documents used by Post Office staff investigating postmasters.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We can find no evidence that the Department was aware of this issue prior to the press reports on 27th May 2023.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers on working conditions for retail workers.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) are a part of the Retail Sector Council where challenges faced by the retail sector are considered. Employment has been identified as a priority area for the Council.
There has been no recent engagement with USDAW specifically on working conditions for retail workers.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2023 to Question 183602 on Overseas Trade: India, if he will make an estimate of the number of jobs that have been created in Greater Manchester as a result of the UK-India investment relationship.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Official Statistics on inward investment at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/department-for-international-trade-inward-investment-results-2021-to-2022 contain details on the number of jobs created from Foreign Direct Investment from India in to the UK, and jobs created from all FDI in to Greater Manchester. However it is not possible to publish figures at a more granular detail due to the risk of disclosing company level details. More information is available in the technical annex.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what guidance her Department issues on access to UK markets for Indian businesses.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Business and Trade supports Indian businesses to invest in the UK by providing end-to-end project management; help with understanding the commercial opportunities through bespoke proposals and inward visits; a strategic account management offer and links with local and national partners, including Chambers of Commerce, Local Enterprise Partnerships and Mayoral Combined Authorities.
Making the UK the top investment destination in Europe from India, attracting new investment into communities and helping to level-up the country including in the north-west remains one of the Department for Business and Trade’s top priorities. Together, the UK-India investment relationship supports over half a million jobs across both economies.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support British companies to make trade agreements with individual Indian states; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are negotiated at country or trade-bloc level. As such we do not have any state-level free trade agreements with India.
The ‘2030 Roadmap’ outlined our aim of doubling trade by 2030, with the intention to negotiate a forward-looking FTA and lowering barriers to trade through an Enhanced Trade Partnership.
The UK and India are committed to working towards the best deal possible for both sides. Progress is good; however, we are clear we will only sign when we have a deal that is fair, balanced, and in the best interests of the economy.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if the Government will appoint a trade envoy to the Republic of India.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As the Honourable Member is aware, India is a dynamic, fast-growing trade partner and negotiating a free trade agreement offers the opportunity to deepen our already strong relationship, which was worth £34 billion in the year to end Q3 2022.
The position remains the same and there are currently no plans to appoint a Trade Envoy to India, however, we regularly review countries and markets to identify where the appointment of a Trade Envoy can be of greatest benefit to the trade and investment aims of the UK, alongside the Department’s other support for exporters and investors.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department has taken to progress (a) economic development and (b) trade initiatives at the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors’ Summit 2023.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government is committed to driving mutual prosperity between the UK and all states of India, including Uttar Pradesh. My Hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham, Minister for Defence Procurement, led a delegation of over 30 UK businesses to Uttar Pradesh’s Global Investor’s Summit 10-12 February. He announced seven Memorandums of Understanding between UK businesses and the state of Uttar Pradesh, with businesses committing £165million of investment into Uttar Pradesh and generating almost a thousand jobs in the state.